An Investigation of the Extent of Arts Education and the Principals\u27 Perceptions of Such Education in Selected Public Elementary Schools in Milwaukee County

The place of the arts in the curriculum of public and private schools in the United States has been drastically affected by the values, events, and trends of the society as a whole. Aesthetic and artistic concerns were often a low priority for the American pioneers, who expended much of their time and energy developing survival skills for practical living. Secondly, our thriving democracy produced business leaders and politicians who viewed art as a frill to be turned to only after the real work was done. As a result, the arts have seldom achieved a place in the curriculum comparable to that of the 3 R\u27s, science, and social studies (Gaitskell, Hurwitz, & Day, 1982). On the other hand, the arts have emerged from the educational reform movement of the last decade as a vital partner in the continuing effort to provide children with a world class education (Duke, 1993)..